Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA Pro Racing Director of Professional Competition Merrill Vanderslice has delayed the Appeal Board hearing on the denied protests of Damon Buckmaster’s Yamaha YZF-R7 Formula Xtreme racebike until Tuesday, May 14, more than a week after the next AMA National (at Sears Point) and two days before official practice starts at Road Atlanta.

In addition to scheduling the hearing on a weekday between races, Vanderslice scheduled the hearing to be held in Columbus, Ohio.

Because the Appeal Board hearing has been scheduled mid-week at a remote location instead of, for example, on the Thursday night prior to the next AMA National, at a location near the National, riders and witnesses flying to the hearing will be forced to pay high air fares due to complicated routing or the lack of a Saturday-night layover.

At post time, a Delta Air Lines ticket from Ontario, California to Columbus to Atlanta and back to Ontario in the involved time-frame was priced at about $800, versus about $300 for a round-trip between Ontario and Atlanta. A separate ticket from Atlanta to Columbus mid-week, starting on Monday and returning on Wednesday, was also priced at about $800. Because most teams and riders have already purchased tickets to the Atlanta race, additional routing change fees–typically $100–could also apply.

In the past, AMA Pro Racing has scheduled Appeal Board hearings at the next available AMA National, since all the involved parties have to be there anyway.

Vanderslice also refused to supply the appealing riders with various AMA Pro Racing internal documents related to the formation and interpretation of the rule in question. Several riders requested the documents in an effort to disprove Vanderslice’s contention that the intent of the rule is now unclear; Vanderslice himself either wrote or approved the rule in question.